Pumping apparatus.



PATENTED DEC. 22, 1903.

4 J. E. KIRK.

PUMPNG APPARATUS.

APPLICATION I'ILBD 00T. e. 1902.

N0 MODEL.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

T'NE nonnls Pnsns'co.. PHamLn-Ho.. wAsHmuYoN, D. I:

No. 747,728. PATBNTBD DB0. 22, 1903.

- A AJ. B. KIRK.

.PUMPING APPARATUS.

APPLIoA'rIoN FILED 00T. 6. 1902.

No MODEL. 2 sums-s112272.

UNITEIS STATES Patented December 22, 1903.

-'PATENT OFFICE.

PUMPING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 747,728, dated December22, 1903. Application filed October 6, 1902. `Serial No. 126,176. (Nomodel.)

-To all whom it may-concern.;

Beit known that l, JOSEPH E. KIRK, a citizenof the United States;residngzat Sistersville,in the county of Tyler and State of WestVirginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in PumpingApparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention provides-a novel form of apparatus for deep-well pumpingto meet varying conditions, the purpose being to expend a minimum amountof energy in the performance of the work.

The invention relates more particularly t the class of pumping apparatusin which the piston embodies upper and lower valves and an intermediatepacking, thepurpose being to relieve the Huid-pressure in the barrel andoff the working valve under downward stroke and utilize that samepressure in forcing valves downward, while keeping a steady tension online or rods all the time.

The invention provides a pump for operating satisfactorily andeffectively in wells where the sand issoft and it is not desirable toallow the fluid to rush back into the well when the valves are pulled orin wells of heavy gas-pressure and containinglittle oil or fluid and itis desired to pumpthe gas and whatever little oil or fluid the wellmakes.

The invention consists, essentially, of the novel details ofconstruction and combinations of parts, which hereinafter will be morefully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification,Figure 1 is a vertical central section of a well-casing, showing thepump mechanism embodying the invention in operative relation.- Fig. 2Ais a view -similar to Fig. l, showing a 4liner in place and a piece'ofpipe attached to the lower end of the automatic stand-Valve andextending into the perforated pipe. Fig. 3 is a vertical central sectionof the upper portion of the pump-barrel, a portion of the well-tubecoupled thereto, thepackerl and the upper portion of the piston-stem andthe check-valve applied to the upper end thereof. Fig. 4 is a sectionsimilar to Fig., 3, showing the stand-valve and the piston.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated reference characters.

The well-casing comprises, essentially, the

`tube 1, pump-barrel 2, and perforated pipe in all the' views of thedrawings bythe same eral sections are coupled in any substantialv way,preferably by means of thimbles 4, having the ends of adjacent' sectionsthreaded therein. The upper end of the pump-barrel forms an innershoulder 5, which is beveled or made rounding and isadapted to supportthe well-packer 6. The lower end of the pump-barrel is thickened-tovprovidean inner shoulder or stop 7 to support either the standvalve ora lower packer.

The upper packer comprises a stnfling-.box 8 and a packer-head 9,connected by a screwthread, the packing 10 within lthe stufngbox beingof rubber, leather, soft metal, iiax, hemp, or any variety andconflned'therein by means of the packer-head and the gland 1l, thelatter-being screw-threaded to the upper e'nd of the stuffing-box in thewell-known n way. The packer-head 9'is provided intermediate of'its endswith a cone 12, which closes the upper end of the working barrel andfits sn ug against the beveled'or rounded shoulder 5, so as tosupportthe packer and preserve a tightjoint. is provided below the cone12-and forms a stop for the cup or packing-ring 14. The lower end of thepacker-head receives a spacing-ring l5 and a cup or packing-ring 16 andis threaded to receive a nut 17, by means of which the parts 14, 15, and16 are confined or clamped between the shoulder 13 and nut 17. The lowerend portion of the packer-head is securely fitted within the upperportion of the working barrel, and a tight joint is provided by reasonof the cu ps or packing-rings 14 and 16. This packer 9 when lowered intothe well-casing'is held in place upon the .shoulder 5 by the friction ofthe' packing applied to its lower end against the inner walls of the Anannular shoulder 13 f pump-barrel and by the weightof the column IooVpassage of the Huid therethrough. The piston-head comprises a cage 19and a tubular body 20,preferably separably formed and connected by ascrew-thread. The cage 19 is tapered to allow of easy return of Huid andis internally threaded at its opposite ends to receive the stem 18 andtubular body 20, and its bars or straps have inner extensions 21 to formstops to limit the insertion of the stem 18 into the cage and to arrestthe upward movement of the ball-valve 22. The upper end of the tubularbody is enlarged to receive an annulus 23, which constitutes a seat forthe ball-valve 22, which may be of brass or steel; but other forms-ofvalve may be used and may be of rubber, leather, or comparatively softmetal. An annular shoulder 24 of approximately conical form surroundsthe upper portion of the tubular body, and the lower end of said body isexternally threaded to receive a nut 25, between which and the shoulder`24 a series of cups or packing-rings 26 and spacing-rings 27 areconfined. It is to be understood that the nature of the packing appliedto the tubular body 20 is unimportant within the purview of theinvention, so long as a tight joint is maintained between thepiston-head and the inner walls of the pump-barrel 2.

The check-valve applied to the upper end of the piston-stem 18comprisesa cage 28 and coupling 29, the latter being threaded upon theupper end of the stem 18 and having its upper end reduced and externallythreaded to receive the lower end of the cage 28. An annulus 30 isfitted to the upper end of the coupling 29 and constitutes a valve-seatand may be of any material suitable for the purpose, similar to thevalveseat 23. The ballvalve 31, located within the cage 28, is normallyseated upon the annulus 30, so as to support the weight of the duidabove said valve. The cage is provided with a coupling end 32, to whichthe operating line or rod may be attached, and below said coupling end asquare portion 33 is provided for the reception of a wrench or anelevator to admit of turning the cage when screwing or unscrewing frompart 29 or hold the same while the line or rod is being attachedthereto. Just below the square 33 and just above'the opening in the cageis a flange or rim projecting a little beyond the line of the body ofthe cage. As the valve is lifted quickly on upstroke of piston theaction of the duid passing over this rim creates a partial vacuumunderneath the rim and acts as a relief to the ball-valve 3l in thedischarge of the uid through said valve on upstroke of piston.

The stand-valve located at the lower end of the pump-barrel 2 comprisesa cage 34 and a tubular body 35, preferably connected by means of ascrew-joint to admit of ready separation of the parts when requiredforany purpose, such as to admit of placing the ballvalve 36 or thevalve-seat 37 in position or removing .them when required. The upperportion of the tubular portion 35 is provided externally withpacking,which is confined between an annular enlargement 38 at the lowerend of the tubular body and the lower end of the cage 34, said packingbeing of any nature and, as shown, comprising cups 39 and spacing-rings40. A stem 41 is movably mounted in the upper end of the cage 34, andthe ball-valve 36 is applied to the lower end, the upper end of the stembeing threaded to receive a nut 42, to which a tap is adapted to befitted when it is desired for any reason to pull the Valve out of thewell. An expansion-spring 43 is mounted upon the stem and confinedbetween the nut 42 and cage 34 and normally exerts an upward pressureupon the nut 42', so as to hold the valve 3o' unseated. When the valvesare withdrawn from the well, the fluid contained therein, exertingadownward pressure upon the valve 36, overcomes the tension of thespring 43 and closes said valve, thereby preventing the Huid passingback into the well, this being of special advantage in wells where thesand is soft. The lower enlargement 38 of the standvalve is of conicalform and corresponds to the inwardly-flared shoulder 7 at the lower endof the pump-barrel.

When it is desired to vuse a liner, as in small wells, the liner 52 iscoupled at its upper end to the lower end of the packer 9 by means of acoupling 53, which replaces the nut 17, said coupling 53 having anextension externally threaded to receive the upper end of the liner 52.The piston and adjunctive parts operating in the liner must of necessitybe of a size to tt the same in substantially the same manner as ifconstructed to fit the pump-barrel in the manner herein stated, saidliner being constructed in all essentials to cooperate with the workingparts in substantially the same manner as described in connection withthe pump-barrel.

The perforated pipe 3 has the perforations just below the workingbarrel, and in some instances it may be desirable to make use of a pipe54, which is connected with the tubular body of the stand-valve andlocated inside of said perforated pipe and extended to a point threefeet or more below the perforations, thereby preventing any gascontained in the well from interfering with the pumping peration. In useof pump, shown in Fig. 1, it is desirable to have the perforations inthe pipe 3 ata point below the gas, since if placed where the gas comesinto the well or above that point the gas is sucked into the barrel withthe fluid and interferes with the action of the valves; but where it isnot practicable to tube the well belowwhere the gas comes in or if thegas is strong enough to interfere with the valves the pipe 54 isemployed and extends suiiiciently below the perforations of the pipe 3so that the stroke of the piston will not exhaust thefluid, the pipe IOOIIC

54 serving as a seal to hold back the gas-pressure. It is preferred tohave the lower end 0f the perforated pipe 3 lplugged, as shown at 55.

In .the operation of the apparatus, as shown in Fig. l, the npstroke ofthe piston by its tendency to create a vacuum in the lower portion ofthe working barrel causes the liquid to be drawn above the stand-valve36, which is normally open. The weight of the liquid whichhas thus beendrawn above the valve 36 causes said valve to become seated, overcomingthe tension of the spring 43. The

` valve 22 opens asthe piston descends upon the downstroke, and theliquid passes upward to a point in the working barrel above the saidvalve. The weight of the liquid being now`removed from off thestand-valve 36 the same again becomes unseated underthe influence of thespring 43. The next upstroke causes the liquid which is above thecheckvalve 22 to be forced upward and discharged into the pump-barrelabove the upper checkvalve 31, the latter becoming unseated to permitthis action. The last upstroke above described Of course repeats theformer action of filling the pump-barrel above the standvalve.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1. Inpumping apparatus, the combination with a well-casing comprising tubingand a l working barrel, the latter having an inner beveled shoulder atits upper end, a packer located at the juncture of the tubing and theworking barrel and comprising a stufling-box and a packer-head, thelatter having a conical enlargement for cooperation with the beveledshoulder at the upper end of the working barrel andhavin g the portionbelow said enlargement externally packed to make a tight joint with theupper portion ofthe working barrel,

the packed portion ofthe enlargement being l disposed below theaforesaid beveled shoulder, a valved piston arranged to operate in theworking barrel, a tubular stemextended from the piston and arranged tooperate in said packer, and an upwardly-opening checkvalve at the upperend of 'the piston-stem adapted to be held seated by the weight of theuid in the tubing above the packer upon the downstroke of the piston,substantially as set forth.

2. In a pumping apparatus, the wellfcasing comprising tubing and aworking barrel, a

packer at the upper end of the working bar-v rel, a piston arranged tooperate in the working barrel below the packer and having its stemarranged to operate in said packer, an upwardly-Opening valve at theupper end of the piston-stem, and a stand-valvelocated at the lower endof the working barrel and comprising'a cage, a vvalve located within thecage`and having a stem mounted for free movement therein, and a springapplied to the extended end of the valve-stem and normally exerting anoutward pressure thereon to hold the valve unseated, substantially asset forth. A

' In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH E. KIRK.. [1.. s.)

Witnesses:

ORION KIRK, JONATHAN E. LADD. I

